Instead, I flew into a small town named Elmira, just a short distance from the Pennsylvania state line. But really, I got to see the things that really interest me about any area that I go to...the rural and agricultural parts...
As we drove along the Interstate, it's amazing to think of the work that went into clearing these areas and the constant work they must require to keep them open and usable for fields or pastures. I absolutely love the huge old barns that are everywhere. If you really want to see much of what is there, you have to go in the winter months, because it becomes very apparent, that during the months that the trees have foliage, you aren't going to see much but flashes of farms. Even with the trees bare, most of the pictures I took ended up being junk because of the trees along the road.Hey, if you are used to forested areas, it probably don't seem like much, but I grew up and have spent most of my life in areas where you can just about count the trees on your property...and most of them, you planted-LOL.
The architecture is magnificent. These two churches were in a little town, that I can't remember the name of. I do remember it was founded in 1793. The churches were built in 1803 and 1806(?)...
Along the way, Chris and I saw a sign for a specialty cheese shop in Cuba. There was no doubt we were gonna stop there and load up. We drove down the road a bit, looking for a restaurant and passed this...
There were no signs to tell us what this beautiful and obviously historic barn was...but this was and is an absolutely magnificent stable. There was no indication that horses still resided there and no vehicles around, but it is obviously maintained within an inch of it's life. An old race horse stable?
18 comments:
Neat pictures! If I went to New York, I'd be more interested in the scenery in the state than in the city too. Thanks for sharing these.
Here's what I found out about that barn:
"A magnificent cement block structure located on Route 305 (South Street) on the southern edge of the village is known as The Block Barn. Constructed in 1909, the building is 347 feet long and 50 feet wide. Because it is made of concrete block with poured cement floors and ceilings, it is entirely fireproof. The blocks used in construction were cast at the construction site, and this is believed to be the first block building built in this area. A New York City business man, William B. Simpson, had the stable built to protect the bloodline of his famous stallion "McKinney" whose trotting record was known worldwide. It is said that the Czar of Russia once sent some of his mares to Cuba to be bred so that the famous McKinney strain could become part of his stable."
Beautiful building...
Awesome pics! The churches are beautiful! The old stable is interesting looking. One can imagine it filled with TB's.
Great pics! I love upstate New York. I was able to drive through it in August one year when everything was green and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Oh, NY state, not the Big Apple. The scenery there is nice - very similar to where I live...
That barn is great - what a shame if it is just sitting there empty!
I enjoyed the tour! It's always nice to get out of dodge and just see the sites no matter where you're headed, a change of scenery does a soul wonders!
Cedar View-Thank You for looking that barn up. I didn't even think of googling it. The fact that trotters are big back east keeps throwing me off. We saw another nice horse farm along the road, that I assumed was TB's, but maybe they were trotting horses?
Yea, about the "Big Apple" thing...it didn't really dawn on me until later that the normal assumption would be that I was meeting Chris in NY City. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, no oil fields there...that will have to be a planned vacation. We would all like to see NYC, but the thought of being surrounded by huge buildings for as far as you can see makes me a tad clausterphobic.
BET-I agree with getting out of Dodge once in awhile. Either you realize what you are missing or you find out you are pretty lucky where you are. I could see myself living in any of the states we passed through...at least in the rural areas. But I would hate to have to "find" everything again.;)
People around here always complain about how far they have to travel to get "anywhere", but it really isn't any different living in a metropolitan area. You are always driving somewhere. At least around here, there is no traffic-LOL.
I've been to NYC, you're not missing much unless you really enjoy the city life. Which I don't I lived in rural Maryland, just outside of DC and that's a place you'd probably love to see during the green months. Stay away from the east coast during mid summer though, ti's brutal. And I live in Texas, I know heat. The barns and fields in Maryland are beautiful though. All TB's with a few warm bloods thrown in, for dressage of course. I loved that land, really lovely, tree filed and green. You could just pull over, let your dog out of the car, and go hiking for miles by a stream on someone's land and never see anything except maybe an old barn.
I love that stable! Beautiful, but kind of sad if it isn't being used to house horses. Such a waste...I've never been to the east coast, but it would be fun to visit. I love road trips!! I just love to travel, most anywhere I guess. My dad was a truck driver and he instilled that love of seeing new places in me too. So much fun - thanks for taking us along on your trip.
That barn looks amazing! Wouldn't you liked to have peeked inside?
I've only been to NYC in NY, I know there is so much more to see! Thanks for sharing some of it with us!
Thanks for making armchair travelers of all of us! I love stuff like that! Too much fun!
LOL!!!! Believe it or not, I have heard of Elmira! My neighbors's husband is from that area. Small world, eh???
Glad that you are back, safe and sound. How is Shooter's leg???
I also thought you were headed towards the Big City!
Neat picture though and that is a really cool old barn - glad to get the inside information on it.
I wonder who owns it now?
We live in the middle of the woods up here in WA - so we are used the maintenance you do every so often to keep your land clear and usable for pasture...since it has been clear for a long time it's not as much work as you may imagine.
Oh what fun!! NY has some beautiful country side. That barn is amazing, and interesting history about it. I would have been neat to look inside. Amazing it looks so good being that it was built in 1909!! Fun trip, and I love old churches and barns.
Thanks for sharing! The pictures are just gorgeous! Love the barn!
That barn is crazy!! Gorgeous. I would have stopped and tried to go snoop - hehe. The history is really cool.
So, what did you find when you went south to Charleston? :)))
Who wants to see NY City?!?!? I'd much rather see what you saw...beautiful!!!
Very interesting history on the beautiful barn. Too bad it's not being used now.
Fun trip and thanks for sharing the pics!
Cyber space must have eaten my post.
You were only about 2 hours away from me, wish I had known.
We do live in a beautiful area, but the winter last year was pretty bad, we had over 180 inches of snow.
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